A Weekend in the Smokies: Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountain National Park

Tennessee was never somewhere that was super high up on my travel bucket list, until I started looking more into the Smoky Mountains. My friends and I planned a long weekend road trip here back in May 2021 and I absolutely loved it! We honestly picked this location because, living in 3 different states, it was a fun way for us to get together in a new place that driveable for all of us. Going into the trip, I wasn't too sure about what to expect visiting Gatlinburg, but boy was I pleasantly surprised!

Table of Contents:

• About Great Smoky Mountain National Park

• Day One: Waterfall Hike, Skylift Park, Morton's Overlook

• Day Two: Alum Cave Bluffs, Shopping, & Distillery

• Where to Eat & Drink in Gatlinburg

• Popular Smoky Mountain Hikes to Check Out

• Final Thoughts

Great Smoky Mountain National Park & Gatlinburg

Great Smoky Mountain National Park is one of the only U.S. National Parks that borders two states: Tennessee and North Carolina. Established in 1934, this park spans over 522,000 acres and is the most-visited national park in the U.S. This park is part of the Appalachian Mountains and gets its name from the fog that hangs over the mountain ranges. The park is free to enter and has a variety of hikes located all over the park.

If you are visiting the Tennessee side of the park, you will surely experience the town of Gatlinburg. This is a very unique, but touristy mountain town with so much do to. In Gatlinburg, you'll find distilleries, Gatlinburg SkyPark, a mountain-top adventure park, an aquarium, and other outdoor activities such as alpine slides. Parking in Gatlinburg can be tricky as it gets very crowded, and most of the lots charge a fee and fill up quickly.

Day One: Waterfall Hike, Skylift Park, Sunset at Morton's Overlook

We had originally planned to get to Gatlinburg on a Friday around 1:30 pm, however, road tripping from Richmond, VA we hit traffic, stopped a few times for food and gas, and ultimately didn't arrive until closer to 4:30 pm. While we had originally planned to do a 4-mile hike, we decided last minut to change our plans around, and it worked out just fine! As soon as we entered Gatlinburg, we immediately headed to Laurel Falls Trail a short, easy 3-mile roundtrip out-and-back hike that leads to a beautiful waterfall. This was an easy hike with an elevation gain of about 400 feet. This paved trail is one of the most accessible waterfall hikes in the park and leads to a beautiful, 80-foot waterfall. This waterfall is named after the flower, the mountain laurel that blooms along the trail during the Spring. There are a few good waterfall spots that I've heard about throughout the Smokies, but this one made the most sense with the time and energy that we had after a 10+ hour car ride!

After taking some pictures and hanging out at the waterfall for a bit, we decided to head into town and pick up our wristbands for Skylift Park. Skylift Park is located at 765 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738 (it's pretty hard to miss!) and is about $28 for adults. You get a wristband that allows you access to the Skylift, Skybridge, SkyDeck, SkyCenter, and SkyTrail (which I didn't find out about until after the fact, so now you know!) You can also buy a combination ticket for about $50 which also allows access to Ripley's Believe it or Not Museum. After purchasing your wristband, we hopped on a ski lift that took us up to the top of the Observation Deck. Here we were met with stunning views of the town below as well as the surrounding mountains. On the deck is the famous Skybridge - The longest suspension bridge in North America! You can walk the length of the bridge, take pictures, admire the amazing views, and adventure onto the glass floor in the center of the bridge. I definitely recommend visiting Skylift Park on Friday as opposed to Saturday because we noticed the crowds were much larger when we passed by it on Saturday night.

After we finished hanging out at Skylift Park, we headed into town to explore some of the shops and grabbed dinner at Calhoun's located at 1004 Parkway #101, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. The food here was amazing, and was my first taste of Tennessee BBQ! Once we finished dinner, we took the drive back into the park to head to Morton's Overlook to watch the sunset. Morton's Overlook is located along Newfound Gap Road and is about a 15-minute drive from Gatlinburg. This is a roadside viewpoint, so we were able to park our car right in the parking lot and enjoy the sunset. This was such a beautiful spot to watch the sunset, and I definitely recommend it if you are looking for a less crowded alternative to the popular sunset spot of Clingman's Dome.

Day Two: Alum Cave Bluffs, Shopping, & Distillery

Day two, we had a full day to explore, and we definitely took advantage! We started off the morning heading to brunch in Gatlinburg at Crockett's Breakfast Camp located at 1103 Parkway, Gatlinburg, TN 37738. After some amazing food, we headed into the park for a hike. We chose to hike the Alum Bluffs Cave Trail - a 4.6-mile out-and-back trail with stunning views of the mountains most of the way. This hike has an elevation gain of about 1,200 feet, and it was definitely a somewhat difficult hike. There are a couple of different viewpoints we encountered on this hike. About 1.5 miles in, we approached Arch Rock, a natural arch formed by erosion that has a staircase that allows hikers to pass through it. Shortly after, the views opened up at Inspiration Point where we were met with panoramic views of the mountains. This was probably my favorite view of the hike, it was absolutely breathtaking! Finally, we reached the Alum Cave Bluffs, standing at 80 feet tall. This provided a place for us to cool down, eat lunch, and take in the views. This hike took us a little under 3 hours total to complete and the views were spectacular!

We headed back down the trail and visited the Sugarlands Visitor Center to grab some souvenirs of course. After spending some time at the visitor center, we grabbed a quick, early dinner in town, explored some of the shops, and headed to Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine Distillery. Here they have walls of various flavors of moonshine, moonshine tastings, souvenirs, whiskey, candles, etc. There are plenty of other distilleries in town, and even if you don't like moonshine, I still recommend checking at least one of them out. If you have time, head over to Clingman's Dome on the North Carolina side of the park to watch the sunset! Unfortunately, this was pretty far from our airbnb and we had a lot of driving to do the next day, so we skipped this stop.

Where to Eat & Drink in Gatlinburg

• Breakfast: 

  • Crockett's Breakfast Camp (some of the best waffles I've ever had!)

  • The Donut Friar

• Lunch / Dinner: 

  • Calhoun's

  • Old Mill Restaurant

  • Tennessee Jed's

  • Smoky Mountain Brewery

• Distillery / Breweries:

  • Sugarlands Distillery

  • Ole Smoky Tennessee Moonshine Distillery

  • Smoky Mountain Brewery

  • Gatlinburg Brewing Company

  • Doc Collier Distillery

  • Ole Smoky Distillery Barrelhouse

Popular Smoky Mountain Hikes to Check Out

• Waterfalls

  • Grotto Falls (2.6-mile roundtrip, approximately 2-3 hours)

    • Grotto Falls is a 25 ft waterfall and can be accessed by the Trillium Gap Trail on the Roaring Fork Motor Trail.  

  • Laurel Falls (2.6-mile roundtrip, approximately 2 hours)

    • Laurel Falls is an 80 ft waterfall and can be accessed by the Laurel Falls Trailhead. If you are coming from the Sugarlands Visitor Center, take Little River Road Towards Cade's Cove and drive about 3.5 miles. This trail is not fully ADA Accessible!

  • Rainbow Falls (5.4-mile roundtrip, approximately 4 hours)

    • Probably the most popular waterfall hike in the park, however it does take a little longer than some of the other waterfall trails, in my opinion, if you're shorter on time, Laurel Falls is a good substitute. Rainbow Falls is an 80 ft waterfall and can be accessed from the Rainbow Falls Parking Area.

*If hiking in the Smokies, be mindful of snakes, bears, and other wildlife...remember this is their home that we are coming into. We saw two snakes, one non-venomous and one venomous while hiking the Laurel Falls Trail, and I know there was a mama bear and her two cubs spotted at one of the neighboring trails to another hike we did that day. Be mindful, be aware of your surroundings, and do not approach the wild animals.*

• Shorter Day Hikes:

  • Alum Cave Bluffs (4.6 miles round trip, moderate out and back trail, approximately 2-3 hours)

    • If coming from the Sugarlands Visitor Center, drive 8.6-miles on Newfound Gap Road to the trailhead. If coming from Oconaluftee Visitor Center, drive 20 miles on Newfound Gap Road. There is a large sign marking the trailhead, road parking, as well as two parking lots. This was one of the trails I was recommended a lot, and I'm definitely glad we were able to check it out!

  • Chimney Tops (4-miles round trip, difficult out and back trail, approximately 2 hours)

    • If coming from the Sugarlands Visitor Center, drive 6.7 miles on Newfound Gap Road to trailhead. If coming from Oconaluftee Visitor Center, drive 22 miles North on Newfound Gap Road. There is a large parking lot on the west side of the road and a sign to mark the trailhead. I've been recommended this trail multiple times, so I will definitely be adding it to my list next time I go!

  • Cucumber Gap and Little River Loop Trail (5.4-mile, moderate loop trail, approximately 2 hours)

    • This trail can be accessed from two different points: the Little River Trailhead, or Jakes Creek Trailhead. While I personally did not do this hike, when reading reviews about it, it is recommended to wear sturdy hiking shoes due to rocky portions.

      

      
      

Final Thoughts

While I wish I had more time to explore Gatlinburg, I am definitely pleased with what we were able to see in what short time we had in the town. My recommendation is: before heading to the city, think of some must-do / must-see things and map out your day like that. Gatlinburg has so much to offer, and the nice thing was if a line was long somewhere (ex. Sugarlands Distillery was wrapped around the side of the building) chances are, there is something very similar within walking distance! Parking can also be tricky right in the town, there is only one road of free parking (River Road) and it fills up pretty quickly, however, there are a lot of paid parking lots ranging from $10-$20 for a full day. I hope you enjoyed reading, and hope this post helps give you some inspiration for your own trip to the Smokies. Thanks for reading, and remember, there's always more to be explored :)

-nicole elizabeth